CHAPTER 224: The Final Decisive Battle in the Clock Tower, Fenix Roger Vs Enid Drakewood - 2

CHAPTER 224: The Final Decisive Battle in the Clock Tower, Fenix Roger Vs Enid Drakewood - 2

Fenix fell face down with a dull thud.

The air escaped his lungs and, even so, he kept moving. He dragged his body as best he could, leaving a dark trail on the blackened floor. Every centimeter hurt.

Enid gave him no respite.

She threw herself on top of him again and again, scratching his face, his neck, his sides. Her claws clashed against bone and muscle, tearing away pieces of flesh while Fenix barely managed to cover himself. His growls were irregular, mixed with forced gasps.

Even so, he kept advancing.

He crawled toward the center of the structure, right beneath the most damaged part of the ceiling. The beams creaked, weakened by the fire. The wood was burning from within.

When they reached the center, Enid launched herself again to finish him off.

At that instant, Fenix stopped retreating.

He thought one single thing.

You fell.

He twisted his torso with what little he had left and threw a short, brutal blow directly at Enid's neck, right beneath the jaw. It was not a blow to knock her out; it was a precise impact, with all his body weight concentrated on a vulnerable point.

The effect was immediate.

Enid lost her balance for a second.

Only one.

But it was enough.

The ceiling finished giving way.

First dust and ash fell. Then fragments of burning wood. Then, complete beams.

A burning log struck Enid's back, and her fur began to catch fire. The flames spread quickly, fed by the resin and the hot air. Enid roared, retreating, shaking herself violently while the fire climbed up her body.

She tried to move away, but the floor was already covered in debris.

More rubble fell.

One after another.

Beams, plates, blocks of wood and metal descended from above, striking her with brutal weight. Enid was trapped beneath a rain of burning debris, partially buried while the fire continued consuming the structure.

Fenix rolled away, breathing with difficulty.

The strategy had been simple and calculated from the start: not to defeat her with strength, but to lead her to the only place where her size and aggressiveness would work against her. The center, the most damaged point, the place where the fire had weakened the structure.

He did not need to kill her with his hands.

He only needed the place to do it for him.

Fenix's body began to shrink amid irregular spasms. The fur retracted, the bones creaked as they readjusted, and, little by little, he returned to his human form. He fell to his knees and then onto his side, without strength to hold himself up.

He was covered in blood. Too much.

Selene ran toward him and knelt beside him.

—Fenix… look at me —she said, taking his face—. We have to get out of here. Now.

Fenix tried to focus his gaze. He blinked several times.

—I… I can't move much —he murmured—. I think… I lost more blood than I should have.

Selene looked down. The floor beneath him was soaked.

—If you stay like this, you're going to bleed out —she said firmly—. Listen to me carefully.

Fenix shook his head, weak.

—No… don't do that.

Selene did not respond. She pulled a small piece of metal from the floor, breathed deeply, and made a clean cut on the palm of her hand. Blood gushed immediately.

She brought her hand close to Fenix's face.

—Feed —she ordered—. It's not an option. If you don't, you die here.

Fenix hesitated. He looked into her eyes.

Fenix closed his eyes for a second. Then he nodded with a barely visible gesture.

He took Selene's hand with both trembling hands and drank.

The warm blood ran down his throat and, almost immediately, his body reacted. The wounds began to close, the skin regenerated, the deep cuts sealed one after another. The bleeding stopped.

When he pulled away, he was breathing more steadily, but still pale and exhausted.

Selene pressed her wound and stood up carefully.

—Better?

Fenix nodded slowly.

—I'm still wrecked… but I'm not dying anymore.

—That's enough for me —Selene said, helping him up—. Let's go. This place is going to come down at any moment.

Fenix leaned his weight on her, still weak.

—I owe you one.

Selene glanced at him sideways.

—You pay me back by getting out of here alive.

The rubble began to move with a wet, heavy creak.

A hand emerged among the burned beams.

Then another.

Among the dust and smoke, Enid appeared.

She was no longer engulfed in flames, but her body was a disaster. The skin blackened and cracked, some areas completely burned, others barely regenerating irregularly.

The only thing intact were her eyes.

Blue. Intense. Empty.

They looked as if they pierced through everything.

Enid spat blood and laughed with a dry sound.

—Look at me… —she murmured—. Look at what you did to me, Fenix.

She took a step forward… and almost fell. She held onto a beam, trembling.

—I don't feel anything good —she growled—. Everything hurts. My body… doesn't respond anymore.

Selene tensed her body, ready to attack.

Fenix took a step forward, still leaning on her.

—It's over, Enid —he said in a hoarse voice—. Admit it. You lost.

Enid raised her head slowly.

—Lose? —she laughed, but the laugh broke—. No… I don't lose. I never lose.

She tried to advance again, but her legs failed her. She fell to her knees with a dull thud.

—Damn it… —she whispered.

Fenix reacted by instinct. He caught her before she collapsed completely.

Both of them ended up crouched, face to face.

Enid raised her gaze toward him. Her expression changed. The fury diluted, replaced by something trembling.

—Fenix… —she said in a low voice—. I… I didn't want this to end like this.